Beverage cooling apparatus



Feb. 9, 1937. E, FREUND 2,070,398

I BEVERAGE bQOLING APPARATUS Filed Dec; 11, 1955 0.0.000. o .0. so 0 00-. o o 0.00. q... 0 0. e0 0.. .0

VENTOR.

ORNEY.

name rave, .1931

Iran s'rras PATENT oFi-i ca 12 Claims.

My invention relates to beverage cooling apparatus and more particularlyto coolers employed in connection with dispensing apparatus. In thesystems now generally in use the beverage is conveyed through pipe linesextending from the container to a dispensing bar where block-tin tubingis arranged in coils in a cooler box or refrigerating chamber, the mostcommon method of cooling being to fill the chamber with cracked ice.This tubing usually of three-eighths inch bore is arranged in a flatcoil laid upon the bottom of he cooler box and the cracked ice is packedupon the coil. These coils usually consist of-about fifty feet of tubingand the quantity of beverage contained in each coil under icing isapproximately equal to thirty-six fluid ounces, or the contents ofapproximately five tumblersof the customary size in use at dispensingbars. This method therefore provides a very limited quantity of beverageunder refrigeration, and when service is rapid, the temperature of thebeverage soon rises above the desired degree, resulting in constantvariations in temperature and requiring frequent re-icing and even withfrequent re-icing the temperature of the beverage still varies rapidlyowing to the limited quantity in the coils under ice. To overcome thisobjection additional cooling is provided in refrigerators where thecontainers are stored, but this provision does not entirely overcome thetemperature variations because of the distance the pipe line extendsfrom the container to the coils in the cooling box at the dispensingbar. In either case refrigeration is costly because of the frequentattention required and the amount of ice consumed.

In other dispensing systems one or more tanks are employed through whichthe beverage is caused to flow from the supply container or barrel tothe dispensing faucet. These tanks are placed in cooling chambers toreduce the temperature of the beverage, but owing to the large volume insuch tanks the cooling is relatively slow and the temperature varieswith the rate of withdrawal. Furthermore in such tanks a considerableair space remains due to air compression -as the tank fills withbeverage, and when this pressure exceeds a predetermined degree due tothe pressure from the supply container a vent valve automatically opensallowing air to escape which carries with it the gas which escapes fromthe beverage causing the beverage to lose its sparkle and run flat.

It is also customary in beverage dispensing systerns to employ air orgas pressure to force the erage and loss of time in arriving at thedesired fill for a tumbler.

One object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator for dispensingbars arranged in two sections, in one of which storage space is providedfor cooling bottled beverages, etc., and the other section for coolingdraft beverages. Another object is to provide a cooler fordraftbeverages whereby a more uniform, rapid and efflcientcooling of thebeverage is obtained. A further object is to reduce the foaming of thedraft beverage when drawn from the dispensing faucet.

.In carrying my invention into effect I provide a refrigerator havingseveral compartments, one for the draft beverage cooler and others forstorage of bottled beverages, and an ice chest having perforated wallscentrally located relative to the storage compartments and extending theentire height and depth of said compartments. The. ice chest will befilled with cracked ice which will always move toward the bottom as itmelts, permitting refilling without disturbing the contents, and wherebythe surrounding air will be uniformly chilled. In the refrigeratingchamber for cooling the draft beverage I provide a cooler having one ormore sections or chambers in the form of relatively long and wide, butvery shallow flat tubes through which the beverage flows in a thin widestream. These tube sections are disposed in the refrigerating box insuch manner as to present a relatively large surface area to the coolingmedium. These cooling sections will provide a much larger fluid capacitythan the ordinary coil of tubing, will cool the beverage much morerapidly and uniformly and therefore consume much less ice, and owing tothe shape will greatly reduce the foaming of the beverage when drawnfrom the dispensing faucet.

The cooling sections or chambers are preferably made of light gaugetinned sheet copper in the form of a shallow flat tube, the length beingapproximately three times the width, or more, and

the depth three-eighths of an inch, or the same of these chambers andtheir height will vary according to the cooling efiect desired, but iffor instance, the length were sixteen inches, the

height five inches, and the depth three-eighths of an inch, insidemeasurement, the capacity of the chamber would be thirty cubic inches,or sixteen and two-thirds fluid ounces, equivalent to the capacity oftwenty-three feet of the usual threeeighths tubing. In the preferredarrangement I employ these sections connected in series of two or morethus multiplying the beverage capacity in the cooler, and when forinstance, three sections are'connected in series, a capacity equal tosixty-nine feet of tubing is obtained, or fifty fluid ounces ofbeverage, and still provide as much space for ice and much moreeffective cooling than would be possible with that length of tubing.Thus my improved arrangement as compared to the usual fifty feet ofcoiled tubing results in an increase of approximately forty per cent inbeverage capacity in the cooler and a reduction of approximately eightyper cent in the weight of material employed.

I have found in practice that by the use of the long, narrow andrelatively high, cooling sections the cooling effect is not only morerapid and uniform, but by arranging the inlet and outlet connections atthe lower corners of the sections, the foaming effect when drawingbeverage at the dispensing faucet is greatly reduced. This I believe isdue' to the form and dimensions of the cool-er section, that is, therelatively small lateraldiameter, larger vertical diameter and longlength of the chamber, and the natural tendency of the foam to risewhile the flow of fluid is more rapid along the lower 'part of thechamber, that is, the direct line from inlet to outlet, and causing thefoam to accumulate in the upper part of the chamber. I further find thatwhen two. or more of these chambers are connected in series the foamingeffect is successively reduced in each section. Furthermore, when afresh container of beverage is connected to the system it is usual toopen the dispensing faucet to start the flow of beverage and with mycooling sections connected in the line all air will be driven out of thesystem, and thereafter practically no air will be present in the coolingsections which will therefore fill completely with beverage and preventany tendency of the beverage gases escaping from the liquid and therebyretaining the natural sparkle and avoiding flatness when drawn from thedispensing faucet.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which, Figure1 is a front perspective view of a dispensing bar or cabinet with thefront and side of the casing partly broken away to show the coolingsections; Figure 2 an enlarged crosssection of the cooling sections; andFigures 3 and 4 schematic views illustrating modified arrangements ofthe cooling sections.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figure 1, my improvedrefrigerator cabinet I is shown having doors 2, a drain shelf 3 formedin one or more sections of perforated sheet metal under which is a drainpan having a drain pipe (not shown) connected to the main drain pipe 4.The lower section of cabinet I is divided into two storage compartments5 and 6 having removable shelves I spaced from the walls of thecompartments as shown at 8 to permit circulation of air. Between thesetwo compartments is an ice chest having perforated sheet metal walls 9on four sides, the front and rear walls of this chest being set in toprovide spaces In to permit air circulation. The water from the meltingice drains into pan II and through outlet 12 into drain pipe 4.-

The ice chest 9 extends the entire height of compartments 5 and 6 and asshown also extends the entire depth, although this latter dimensionmight be less to allow for storage space on all four sides of the icechest. I find that with this arrangement the cooling effect is morerapid and uniform and the ice consumption is greatly reduced.Furthermore, an ice chest arranged in the manner indicated for the useof cracked ice may be recharged more readily; the ice packs more closelywithout voids; and recharging requires no removal of small lumps.

The upper part of the cabinetl is arranged into a separate refrigeratingchamber l3 in which is placed the cooling sections IQ for draftbeverages to be dispensed from faucet l4. Only one draft beverage lineis shown with a single dispensing faucet, but it will be understood thatany number of beverage lines with cooler sections is and faucets It maybe employed, in which case the entire refrigerator will be longer, oronly chamber I3 may be longer, and the beverage cooling units 1 9 may bedisposed in groups of two or three sections, each group connected inseries and placed in the chamber 13 as indicated schematically inFigures 3 and 4. Chamber I3 is a metal lined box having a drain pipe ISwith overflow hole 16 to maintain the water from melted ice at the levelof said hole. Above the chamber I3 is the usual perforated drain plateI! which covers a drain pan set into the top of chamber l3 and having adrain tube 18 entering drain pipe 15.

In the drawing I have illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, three coolingsections 19 ,19" and l9 connected in series. These cooler sections arepreferably made of light gauge tinned sheet copper of any desired lengthand height, and quite narrow, the latter dimension being preferably thesame as the diameter of the block-tin tubing connected to the supplyline, usually threeeighths of an inch. These sections are positioned andsuitably spaced parallel to each other and rest on their bottom edges inthe refrigerating chamber l3. In the preferred form these sections havetheir end walls 20 slanting or curved downward as shown in Figure l andterminate in or are provided with nipples to whichcouplings 2| aresecured. To the first or inlet section l9 is connected a supply tube 22.This tube will be of the usual three-eighths block-tin tubing and enterschamber I3 from or near the top and is coupled to the inlet end ofsection Ill by coupling 2| as shown in Figure 1. The supply tube 22 isconnected outside the chamber l3 to the usual supply pipe leading fromthe beverage container stored at a convenient point or ina storagerefrigerator, but since the supply system forms no part of the presentinvention same is not illustrated. The outlet from cooler section I9 isa block-tin tube 23 of three-eighths bore and is coupled to the inletend of section IS". The outlet tube 23 from section I!) is coupled tothe inlet end .it flows from the cooler sections and reduce the velocityof flow to the faucet, and whereby the beverage is caused to issue fromthe faucet in a relatively-slow flowing solid stream instead of a rapidflowing jet or squirt as would be the case if the bore of the faucet andthe tubing leading j natural gas content prevents frothing of thebevimage as distinguished from the natural foaming due to the gascontent, and consequently a tumbier may be filled with the desiredvolume without having to remove or wait for the froth to subside. Thetube 24 may be-quite shortbut I prefer to use a length of about eight orten feet extending between the outlet end of the last cooler section i9and the dispensing faucet l4, and in practice I arrange this tube in acoil either underneath the cooler sections I 9 as shown in Figure 2, orcoiled around the ends of the sections as illustrated in Figure 3.

For a dispensing bar having a number of dispcnsing faucets It, therefrigerating chamber 83, as above stated, will be longer as customary,and the cooler sections it will be arranged end to end. That is, if forinstance, two faucets H are provided, there will be two sets of coolersections is, l9 and l9 arranged in longitudinal alignment, and each setarranged as in Figure 1. When more than two faucets are employed, forinstance three, a third set of sections may be added in the same mannerand the box l3 made correspondingly longer, or the individual sectionsl9 may be longer and arranged in tandem as illustrated in Figure 4. Thislatter arrangement is preferred for dispensing. bars having a largernumber of faucets since the sections are very narrow and six lines ofcooler sections may readily be placed .in the refrigerating chamber isof the customary width faucets connected to the ordinary block-tin tubediii coolers, three hundred feet of tubing would be required weighingwith connections a over onehundred and fifty pounds. This plus theweight of the usual amount of ice required necessitates a refrigeratorbox construction capable of sustaining a weight of upwards of.three-hundred pounds. It will readily be seen, therefore, that with myimproved cooler sections of light gauge copper with small amount oftubing required for connections this weight will be greatly reduced andthat consequently the refrigerator box construction may be accordinglymodified and greatly reducing liability of damage and need for repairs.

I have found in practice that by the 'use of cooler sections asillustrated, the cooling effect is much more rapid than would bepossible with the customary block-tin tubing of equal fluid capacity,and that by reason of the cooler sections being immersed in iced waterthe cooling is more uniform and requires much less icing.

What I claim is:

1. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling, chamber andbeverage conveyer within said chamber, said conveyer comprising a supplytube entering said chamber, a discharge tube for connection to adispensing faucet, and'a flatsided tubular section of greater length.than height and having downwardly tapering ends connected between saidtubes.

2. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber andbeverage conveyer within said chamber, said conveyer comprising a supplytube entering said chamber, a discharge tube for connection to adispensing faucet, and two or more fiat-sided tubular sections ofgreater length than height having downwardly tapering ends connected inseries between said tubes.

3. In a beverage dispenser, the combinatibn'of a cooling chamber,.adispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within saidchamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, adischarge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smallerdiameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and sided tubularsection of greater length than width and relatively small cross-sectionconnected between said supply and discharge tubes.

4. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber, adispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within saidchamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, adischarge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smallerdiameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and of smaller bore thanthe supply tube, and a fiat-sided tubular section of greater length thanwidth and relatively small cross-section arranged on edge and havingdownwardly tapering ends connected between said supply and dischargetubes.

5. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber, adispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within saidchamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, adischarge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smallerdiameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and of smaller bore thanthe supply tube, and two or more flat-sided tubular sections of greaterlength than width and relatively small cross-sectionconnected in seriesbetween said supply and discharge tubes. I

6. In a beveragedispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber, adispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within saidchamber; said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, adischarge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smallerdiameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and of smaller bore thanthe supply tube, and two or more flat-sided tubular sections of greaterlength than width and relatively small cross-section arranged on edgeand having downwardly tapering ends connected in series between saidsupply and discharge tubes.

'7. A cooling apparatus for liquids having in combination a coolingchamber, inlet and outlet pipes for the liquid to be cooled, and aliquid chamber connected between said pipes having approximatelyparallel vertical walls of greater length than height and spacedapproximately equal to the bore of the inlet pipe whereby the liquidwithin said chamber will be presented for cooling in a long, wide andthin stream of relatively small volume and large area.

8. A cooling apparatus as defined in claim '7 having the inlet andoutlet ports of the liquid chamber at the bottom edge thereof atopposite ends and in longitudinal alignment to provide straight lineflow of liquid along the bottom of the chamber.

9. A cooling apparatus for liquids having in combination a coolingchamber, inlet and outlet pipes for the liquid to be cooled, and aplurality of separate liquid chambers having approximately parallelvertical walls of greater length than height and spaced internallyapproximately equal to the bore of the inlet pipe and coupled in seriesbetween said pipes whereby the liquid to be cooled will flowsuccessively through said chambers and of smaller bore. than the supplytube, and a flatand thin streams of relatively small volume and largearea.

10. A cooling apparatus as defined in claim 9 having the inlet andoutlet ports of the liquid chambers at the bottom edges thereof atopposite ends and in longitudinal alignment to provide straight lineflow of liquid in each chamber along the bottom thereof. p

11. In a dispenser for gas containing beverages, a oonveyer comprising asupply pipe, a discharge pipe and dispensing faucet connected thereto,and a liquid chamber connected between said pipes having approximatelyparallel vertical walls of greater length than height and spacedapproximately equal to the bore of the supply pipe and having the inletand outlet ports at the bottom edge thereof at opposite ends and inlongitudinal along the bottom of the chamber, and whereby be presentedfor cooling in successive long, wide .the foam due to the gas contentwill rise in said section and reduce the foaming at the discharge faucetwhen opened for discharge.

'12. In a dispenser for gas containing beverages, a conveyer comprisinga supply pipe, a discharge pipe and'd'i'spensing faucet connectedthereto, and a plurality of separate liquid chambers havingapproximately parallel vertical walls of greater length than height andspaced internally approximately'equal to the bore of the supply pipe andcoupled in series between said pipes and having the inlet and outletports at the bottom edge thereof at opposite ends and in longitudinalalignment to provide straight line flow of liquid along the bottom ofeach chamber and whereby the foam due to the gas content of the beveragewill rise in each chamber and cause decreased foaming successively ineach chamber and reduce the'foaming at the discharge faucet when opened.

. EDWARD FREUND.

